Gideon Black's eyes narrowed slightly in an instant.
Without making a sound, he quietly retreated back into the courtyard, carefully observing the situation outside the church.
"There are no signs of damage nearby, so it's not so kind of monster."
"There are footprints on the only pathway, about 26 centiters long—should be an adult male."
"The relics in the soil are intact, so the other party isn't so kind of otherworldly being."
Gideon calmly analyzed the situation.
Based on the evidence, the visitor was likely a man, slightly overweight, and between 170-175 centiters tall.
"I think I might know who it is..."
Gideon felt he had an idea of the visitor's identity.
But to be safe, he entered the church through the No. 3 ergency passage.
Cautiously, Gideon made his way to the reception lounge, where he spotted a plump priest slumped over a chair, snoring in his sleep.
Upon seeing the man's face, Gideon finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He stepped forward and gave the man a gentle pat on the face.
Startled, the chubby priest sprang up from the chair.
"Phew... it's you."
"How do you have the key to the church?"
"Well... uh, about that..."
The fat priest's surna was Huang, first na Ren. From his na, it was clear he was of Asian descent.
Huang Ren and Gideon had joined the church around the sa ti.
Huang Ren was passionate about community service, and quickly rose to parish priest thanks to his acquaintance with church officials, overseeing parish finances.
Gideon, more reclusive, remained stationed at this remote church—sothing Gideon himself later found suited him just fine.
The church's authority structure is led by the Vatican at the top—the holy land for all clergy.
Below it, there are dioceses, parishes, and local churches, each rank managing the ones beneath it.
Local churches, like Gideon's, are the lowest tier, overseen by both parishes and dioceses.
...
After much hemming and hawing, Huang Ren finally confessed to having secretly stashed a spare key.
He explained it was just in case Gideon was away—he didn't want to be stuck waiting outside.
"Every visit here is so much trouble, with crucifixes and holy water... Does my humanity still need to be questioned?"
Huang Ren was complaining when Gideon handed him a cup of holy water.
Facing "evil authority," Huang Ren had no choice but to comply and gave the key back.
With that small episode over, Huang Ren stated his purpose for visiting.
"First, the monthly contribution as always. Second, however..."
Huang Ren deliberately kept him guessing.
"There's good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
"If the good news is that you've been kicked out of the church, let's start with that," Gideon quipped.
Huang Ren was fine except for one flaw—his enthusiasm for counseling female community mbers.
Of course, the church knew nothing of this, and Gideon wasn't one to gossip.
"That's not funny!"
Seeing Gideon teasing him about his "misdeeds" again, Huang Ren stopped beating around the bush.
"The good news is, starting next month, we'll no longer need to pay monthly contributions."
Gideon was taken aback—the church giving up such a source of wealth?
"Hehe, surprised, aren't you?"
Huang Ren grinned mysteriously.
"But don't get too happy. The bad news is that the church will now assign regular missions, and the appointed parish priests must complete them!"
Putting on a serious face, Huang Ren said, "Because recently, the Vatican has received the 'Holy Word.'"
Gideon's eyebrows shot up.
The so-called Holy Word refers to the Word of God—a revelation from above.
All along, Gideon thought such things were just made up. But after encountering supernatural events, he began to suspect God might actually exist.
According to Huang Ren, this ti the Pope received a long scripture:
The Holy Word revealed that Satan and other evil forces were awakening, and that the end tis would soon arrive.
To save the world, before Judgnt Day the Lord would select five Holy Children to lead the church and the world into a new era.
"So basically, the Bible rewritten. How is that the Holy Word?" Gideon muttered, unimpressed.
But Huang Ren just shook his head: "This ti, it's different."
Allegedly, the Pope personally introduced the Holy Word and required every diocese to read it.
The text indicated that the Holy Children would be individuals recognized for their strength, virtue, and reputation.
They would beco God's agents on earth, and everyone in the church would have to obey them—even the Pope.
Selections for the Holy Children would be open to all clergy—not just priests but also nuns and deacons, as long as they t the criteria.
This surprised Gideon.
After all, church hierarchy was strict; won like nuns were never allowed to participate in important rituals.
Letting even the Pope yield authority was unprecedented.
"And that's just the beginning," Huang Ren added.
He pulled out a black cloth bag that jingled with tal inside.
Carefully opening it, he revealed crosses and chalices.
"I have these too," Gideon said, puzzled.
But Huang Ren put on a crafty look, then hurried to the church entrance to make sure no one was around before returning.
"You know about the exhibition a few days ago, right?" Huang Ren lowered his voice.
Gideon just nodded without expression.
"Word has it there was so unfathomable entity involved, and ultimately, a church mber resolved the situation. Now, many say that person is the real Holy Child."
Gideon raised his eyebrows, rembering that an unknown voice at the ti also ntioned the Holy Child.
"The night the exhibition ended, the Vatican dispatched these items."
Huang Ren looked very pleased with himself.
"These are genuine exorcism relics!"
According to him, the Vatican intended for current clergy to regain the ability to perform exorcisms.
"True exorcism?" Gideon asked.
"Of course!"
Huang Ren whispered,
"All that community work we did before—reciting scriptures, holy water baptisms—was just for show. There was no real power."
"That's why priests are often criticized as re figureheads."
As Gideon was a close acquaintance, Huang Ren didn't hold back.
But the church did have real exorcism thods—just ones reserved for a select few, or specific agents.
This ti, however, the Holy Word specifically commanded passing these arts down.
Huang Ren picked up a cross.
"This might look ordinary, but it's very different from the ones you're used to!"
"This one has been kept under sacred icons, imbued with a trace of divine power."
Gideon could tell its unusual nature just from a distance.
Still, to avoid suspicion, he feigned curiosity, twirling it in his hands.
"Hmmm... About one percent the strength of my own cross," Gideon thought.
Huang Ren prattled on, explaining that only with these items could one truly harm evil spirits.
Such relics were ranked by age—ten-year-old holy water, for example, was far more powerful than the yearly batches.
The older the relic, the greater its efficacy.
"Starting next month, clergy under diocesan authority will receive assignnts and use these relics to handle various incidents."
"Speaking of exorcism—"
Huang Ren produced a scripture inscribed in Latin.
"This registry details the nas of evil spirits successfully exorcised by predecessors.
"To exorcise effectively, we must know the spirit's na. Without it, even a relic is useless."
"What if you can't learn the na?" Gideon probed, realizing he'd never done so.
"Then it becos dangerous!" Huang Ren sighed.
"In the old days, reciting exorcism scriptures and wielding crosses and holy water was enough to destroy evil spirits—"
But this presud that the exorcist possessed pure divine power—sothing only developed over decades of practice.
That thod gradually faded, replaced by identifying the spirits by na.
Now Gideon understood.
No wonder, in horror stories, the church always seed so weak: ghosts often hard people even while bearing crosses.
"But even if you do know a spirit's na, without a quality relic, it's all for nothing!"
Huang Ren waved his hand.
"Our kind of local church is lucky just to have a year-old vial of holy water! The good stuff is reserved for core mbers!"
"Core mbers?"
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